LILLY LEDBETTER

I attended the 2012 Ohio Democratic State Convention as a voting delegate. It was a very interesting and informative experience. The caucus to choose our delegate to the Democratic National Convention was just like caucuses I've seen on television from other states. Members from our 10th U.S. Congressional District were instructed to gather at one side of the hall. Nominations were taken and the delegate who was elected is Mark Owens, the Montgomery County Democratic Party Chair. He was elected by acclamation. (CLICK HERE to see the article detailing events at the Convention.)

We were given our choice to attend several educational events; I chose to hear Lilly Ledbetter. Mrs. Ledbetter gave a rousing speech and she lived up to the title of her book, Grit and Grace: My Fight For Equal Pay And Fairness At Goodyear And Beyond, by exhibiting both traits of grit and grace.

While working at Goodyear in a management position, Mrs. Ledbetter learned that her salary was less than male counterparts. She sued Goodyear and was awarded 3.3 million dollars. She was never able to collect the award because the Supreme Court ruled that she "was not entitled to the compensation because she had not filed her claim within the 180 days after receiving her first discriminatory paycheck." The decision was absurd: how could she have filed when she did not learn about the inequity until after the time limit? Fortunately, Congress acted and passed the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first Act which President Obama signed into law in 2009. Now workers can sue up to 180 days after receiving ANY discriminatory paycheck. (See the following article detailing her speech.)

Superhero Democrats Gather to Defend the Middle Class

Last weekend a plethora of superhero democrats convened in one place for the Ohio Democratic Party State Convention and Dinner. The Keynote speaker for the dinner was Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer. You might have heard about Brian Schweitzer from the Rachel Maddow Show. That’s where I first heard about him. In 2004 Brian was elected as Montana’s first Democratic governor since 1988.

Schweitzer is known for his unsparing use of the veto, a power he has exercised 21 times in his eight years as Governor. For instance, in April 2011, Schweitzer made news with his unconventional use of a branding iron to publicly veto several bills that he called “frivolous, unconstitutional and just bad ideas” and that he said were “in direct contradiction to the expressed will of the people of Montana.”

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